St. Jude researchers find mutations in fatal leukemia

Memphis Business Journal
April 14, 2008

Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered evidence that a series of genetic mutations work together to initiate most cases of an aggressive and often fatal form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

"These findings provide new avenues to pursue to gain a better understanding of these disease processes and, ultimately, to develop better therapies," James R. Downing, St. Jude scientific director and chair of the Department of Pathology, said in a statement.

These defects, known as "cooperating oncogenic lesions," include the deletion of a gene whose protein normally helps guide the development of a blood stem cell into a lymphocyte.

The researchers found that the loss of the same gene accompanied the transformation of chronic myelogenous leukemias to a life-threatening acute stage. Chronic myelogenous leukemia is an uncommon type of cancer of the blood cells. It's considered chronic leukemia because it usually progresses more slowly than acute leukemia, sometimes over the course of years.

The study was published in the online journal Nature. The work was supported by ALSAC, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Haematology Society of Australasia.